Oxychlorination catalyst compositions and process of making same

ABSTRACT

A superior catalyst for the oxychlorination of C 2  hydrocarbon feeds comprises a mixture of copper chloride and alkali metal chloride, for instance, potassium chloride, and preferably also magnesium chloride, which mixture is deposited on an alumina support having a surface area in excess of 20 and less than 100 m 2  /g. The thermal stability of such a catalyst composition can be further improved by incorporating 0.2 to 5 percent silica in the alumina support. The use of such microspheroidal catalyst in the production of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene by oxychlorination of a C 2  hydrocarbon feed in a fluidized bed reactor results in particularly good process efficiencies in terms of high HCl conversion, and good flexible selectivity to specifically desired product, reduced burning and long on-stream times.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of Application Ser. No. 07/451,303, filed Dec. 15, 1989 and allowed Oct. 25, 1990. The full text of said application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to catalyst compositions useful in the production of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene by catalytic oxychlorination of C₂ hydrocarbons or their partially chlorinated derivatives and to process for making such compositions.

2. General Background and Summary of the Prior Art

Perchloroethylene, C₂ Cl₄, and trichloroethylene, C₂ HCl₃, are chlorinated hydrocarbons which have been widely used as solvents in dry cleaning textiles, in degreasing metal parts, and in various other operations. As perchloroethylene is relatively stable, its use is currently much less severely restricted by anti-pollution regulations than is the use of most other chlorinated solvents. Trichloroethylene is a potentially valuable intermediate for manufacturing chlorofluorocarbon replacements which are less damaging to the atmospheric ozone layer.

It has been common to produce perchloroethylene simultaneously with trichloroethylene by catalytic oxychlorination of ethane, ethylene or a partially chlorinated derivative thereof, i.e., by reacting such a feedstock with chlorine or hydrogen chloride and air or oxygen at a suitable elevated temperature in the presence of a suitable solid catalyst, the catalyst being maintained in the reaction zone either as a fixed bed or, more preferably, as a fluidized bed.

Typically, such oxychlorination catalysts are compositions that comprise a catalytic amount of a metal having a variable valence, notably copper, as well as an alkali metal, notably potassium, supported on a suitable carrier. Carriers used commercially in the past have included highly calcined fuller's earth (an adsorbent clay) such as "Florex" or, preferably, synthetic activated aluminas. See, for instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,267,162, 3,296,319 and 4,463,200. Fuller's earth is essentially a porous magnesium-aluminum silicate containing small proportions of oxides of iron, calcium, potassium and titanium. By contrast, synthetic activated alumina consists essentially of alumina with virtually no significant impurities or at the most only a very small proportion of silica.

Researchers working on catalytic oxychlorination processes in the prior art have in some instances expressed a preference for the use of low-surface-area alumina as catalyst supports, i.e., for supports having a surface area below 10 m² /g or more especially between 2 and 5 m² /g (as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,534), while in other instances they have expressed a preference for high-surface-area alumina as catalyst supports, i.e., for supports having a surface area of at least 100 m² /g (as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,200). Low-surface-area supports have been recommended mainly because they were thought to result in higher HCl conversions and lower carbon burning (see, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,427,359 and French Patent No. 1,386,023), whereas high-surface-area supports have been recommended because they were thought to contribute to an increased selectivity of the reaction toward the production of perchloroethylene as the desired product and a reduced formation of undesirable 1,1,2-trichloroethane and unsymmetrical tetrachloroethane, as indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,200.

However, catalysts comprising a low-surface-area support have been found to be relatively unstable in that such supports possess only a relatively small number of binding sites for retaining the active metal salts in the composition, and the resulting loss of the metal salts from such catalysts has been found to constitute a significant factor in causing corrosion of the metal reactors in which such oxychlorination reactions are generally carried out. In addition, especially when low-surface-area supports such as diatomaceous earth or other silica-aluminas are used, high selectivities to perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene are not obtained at reasonable temperatures.

On the other hand, catalysts comprising a high-surface-area support, especially when used at temperatures near or above 400° C. which are required to obtain good selectivity for the production of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene, cause substantial oxidation of the feed material with a concomitant formation of unwanted carbon oxides, especially when ethane or ethylene are used as the feed, and in particular under conditions favoring the production of trichloroethylene.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide improved catalyst compositions for use in the production of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene by oxychlorination, such that the disadvantages and problems heretofore encountered in the prior art may be avoided or substantially alleviated.

A more particular object is to provide improved catalyst compositions for use in the production of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene from ethane, ethylene or partially chlorinated derivatives thereof, wherein corrosion of metal reactor surfaces is avoided or minimized, and improved overall feed conversions, higher total selectivity to the described end products, and process flexibility are obtained, allowing efficient use of the same catalyst composition under conditions selected to maximize the production of either perchloroethylene or trichloroethylene.

Another particular object is to provide a process for making an improved catalyst composition for use in the production of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene by oxychlorination, which composition possesses improved long-term surface area stability at elevated oxychlorination temperatures and consequently remains operable over extended periods of time, without becoming sticky due to salt overload such as has been known to occur when the surface area of a catalyst support becomes diminished in the process.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an improvement is provided in the production of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene by catalytic oxychlorination of at least one C₂ hydrocarbon or a partially chlorinated derivative thereof, which improvement is based on the use of a microspheroidal catalyst composition which comprises a catalytic amount of a mixture of copper chloride and alkali metal chloride deposited on an especially selected support, the support being an alumina having a surface area closely controlled within a range which is in excess of 20 and less than 100 m² /g, preferably between about 20 and 80 m² /g, and most preferably between about 25 and 60 m² /g. When such a catalyst composition is to be used in a fluidized bed process, it is desirably composed of particles having an average particle diameter of between about 30 and about 70 microns. The copper chloride-alkali metal chloride catalyst mixture is loaded onto this alumina support at a concentration of between about 10 and about 25 weight percent, and the ratio of copper chloride to alkali metal chloride in the catalyst mixture is in the range from 0.5:1 to 5.0:1, preferably from 0.5 1 to 3.0:1, and most preferably from 1.2:1 to 3.0:1, calculating the copper chloride as CuCl₂.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an improved catalyst composition for such an oxychlorination process is provided by using as the catalyst carrier or support a substantially pure high-surface-area gamma-alumina having from 0.2 to 10 weight percent silica incorporated therein. While thermal stabilization of alumina by incorporation of silica is not broadly new and has in fact been practiced in the manufacture of supports for platinum catalysts used in automotive exhaust canisters, no such stabilization of alumina supports is known to have been practiced in the production of oxychlorination catalysts and was in fact thought to have been unnecessary because oxychlorination reactions are normally run at temperatures well below the normal transition temperature of 1200° C. at which gamma-alumina changes over to the low-surface-area alpha form (see, for example, Allen Russell, "Alumina Properties", Technical Paper No. 10, Alcoa Research Laboratories, 1953, page 6).

Yet another aspect of the invention involves an improved oxychlorination catalyst composition that comprises a copper chloride - alkali metal chloride catalyst mixture loaded on a support consisting essentially of an activated alumina or an activated alumina stabilized against thermal degradation by the inclusion of a small amount of silica, wherein a significant further improvement is obtained by the addition of a magnesium salt such as magnesium chloride to the catalyst mixture. When magnesium is included in the catalyst mixture, it is present in an amount resulting in a weight ratio of alkali metal chloride (e.g., potassium chloride) to magnesium chloride from 0.5:1 to 2.0:1, preferably 0.8:1 to 1.2:1, and most preferably between 0.95:1 and 1.05:1, irrespective of the surface area of the catalyst support On the other hand, the desirable ratio of (potassium chloride +magnesium chloride)/copper chloride is dependent on the surface area and has been found to be ideally described, with very high correlation, by equation (1):

    Z(preferred)=0.00908 X+0.485                               (1)

where Z is the ratio of (potassium chloride+magnesium chloride)/cupric chloride and X is the surface area of the alumina support in square meters per gram. An upper value where good results can still be obtained is described by the equation:

    Z(upper)=0.00973 X+0.860

and a lower value of the same useful nature is described by the equation

    Z(lower)=0.00811 X+0.216.

A graph corresponding to these equations is shown in FIG. 1.

The optimum loading also varies with surface area and has been found by linear regression to follow, again with very high correlation, the equation (2):

    Y(preferred)=0.102 X+12.57                                 (2)

where Y is the total catalyst loading in weight percent and X is the surface area of the catalyst support in square meters per gram. A graph representing this equation is shown in FIG. 2. A variation from this equation of plus or minus about 20 percent gives satisfactory results. Higher loadings risk agglomerization of the catalyst while lower loadings show reduced activity.

The useful range of surface areas described by the above equations is from above about 20 to less than about 100 m² /g of support, but for best results overall in accordance with the present invention the use of alumina supports having a surface area of from about 25 to about 60 m² /g is preferred.

THE DRAWINGS

Referring to the drawings

FIG. 1 is a graph showing the correlation between a suitable ratio of potassium chloride plus magnesium chloride/ copper chloride and surface area of the alumina support used in the catalyst composition.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing the correlation between a suitable total catalyst loading and the surface area of the alumina support used in the catalyst composition.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the correlation between HCl conversion and the surface area of the catalyst support.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the correlation between metal corrosion rates and the surface area of the catalyst support.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the loss of surface area of three different catalysts after aging in the process.

FIG. 6 is a bar chart showing the effect of silica content on the thermal stability of the support.

In reading this specification and claims, it should be understood that all proportions and percentages of materials are stated on a weight basis throughout unless some other basis is indicated explicitly or implicitly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene may be produced by catalytically oxychlorinating an organic feedstock comprising a C₂ hydrocarbon or an incompletely chlorinated derivative thereof or a mixture comprising two or more such hydrocarbons and/or incompletely chlorinated derivatives thereof. Preferred feed materials include ethane, ethylene, ethyl chloride (monochloroethane), ethylene dichloride (1,2-dichloroethane), and mixtures containing two or more of these compounds. Recycle chlorocarbon streams containing these compounds can, of course, be used as feed sources. As used herein, the term "C₂ hydrocarbon" means and includes ethane, ethylene and any incompletely chlorinated derivative of any such hydrocarbon containing fewer chlorine atoms than the desired product, as well as any mixture comprising two or more of these "C₂ hydrocarbons".

When perchloroethylene is produced by catalytic oxychlorination, i.e., by reaction of the organic feedstock with hydrogen chloride or chlorine and oxygen, a substantial amount of trichloroethylene is also produced in addition to by-products, e.g., some lower boiling compounds and some higher boiling compounds as well as some carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Because the production of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene by oxychlorination is a highly exothermic process, it is best carried out using a solid catalyst in a fluidized bed which, unlike a fixed bed, minimizes the formation of undesirable hot spots and facilitates the removal of the heat of reaction by means of heat exchangers, as is otherwise well known in the art (see, for example, M. Leva, "Fluidization", McGraw-Hill, 1959, pp 6, 208-209).

Such oxychlorination is desirably carried out at a reaction temperature of between about 370 and about 470° C., preferably between about 400° and about 430° C. Atmospheric, subatmospheric or superatmospheric reaction pressures may be used, but preferably the reaction pressure is maintained between about 1 and about 20 atmospheres, and more preferably between about 1 and about 6 atmospheres.

The oxychlorination reaction is generally conducted for a time sufficient to maximize the production of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene based on carbon utilization. The superficial reaction zone residence time may suitably be from several seconds to several minutes, e.g., from about 2 seconds up to about 1 minute, and preferably from about 10 up to about 30 seconds.

Oxygen may be supplied to the reaction as pure oxygen gas or more commonly as an oxygen-containing gas, e.g., air or oxygen-enriched air. As is otherwise well known in the art, the ratio of total feed of oxygen to total feed of organic feedstock is a variable number which depends upon the specific composition of the feed and other process design factors. The oxychlorination reaction may be conducted with an amount of molecular oxygen that is at least equal to the stoichiometric amount required to completely oxychlorinate the organic feed to the ratio of trichloroethylene to perchloroethylene desired while at the same time converting substantially all displaced hydrogen to water.

More typically, the amount of oxygen supplied ranges between this stoichiometric amount and up to about 200 percent in excess of this amount, preferably from about 10 to about 50 percent in excess of stoichiometric. For instance, when making perchloroethylene by oxychlorinating ethylene, the reaction may be described by the equation

    C.sub.2 H.sub.4 +4HCl+2O.sub.2 C.sub.2 Cl.sub.4 +4H.sub.2 O.

In such a case, it is preferred to use from 2.2 to 3 moles oxygen per mole of ethylene feed.

In addition to the organic feedstock and oxygen, hydrogen chloride or chlorine or both are also supplied to the reaction zone. The ratio of total feed of chlorine and/or hydrogen chloride to total organic feedstock again is a variable number which depends upon the specific composition of the feed and other process design factors, as is well known in the art. The oxychlorination reaction is typically conducted with an amount of chlorine and/or hydrogen chloride adjusted to reflect the desired ratio of trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene that is at least equal to about 50 percent of the stoichiometric amount required to oxychlorinate the organic feedstock completely to perchloroethylene. For example, when ethylene dichloride is catalytically oxychlorinated to perchloroethylene it is preferred to maintain the mol ratio of hydrogen chloride to ethylene dichloride above about 1.6, e.g., of from between about 1.6 to about 1.9, while maintaining the mol ratio of oxygen to ethylene dichloride between about 1.5 and about 2.2.

The essence of the present invention lies in providing for use in such oxychlorination reactions a special, improved catalyst composition comprising a catalytic amount of a copper chloride-potassium chloride-magnesium chloride mixture deposited on microspheroidal particles of activated alumina having a carefully selected surface area and stabilized against thermal or thermochemical degradation by the deliberate inclusion of a small amount of silica in the alumina.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,200 it has been disclosed that in the manufacture of perchloroethylene by oxychlorination the use of an activated alumina having a surface area of at least 100 m² /g and preferably between 150 and 250 m² /g as the support for the copper chloride-potassium chloride catalyst mixture results in a significant reduction in the formation of undesirable by-products such as 1,1,2-trichloroethane or 1,1,1,2-tetrachloroethane and that this kind of high-surface-area support simultaneously also favors a high molar ratio of perchloroethylene to trichloroethylene in the product with excellent chlorine utilization. Unfortunately, such catalyst compositions using a high-surface-area support have also been found to promote excessive burning of the feedstock, that is, they destroy a substantial portion of the feedstock by converting it to oxides of carbon.

It has now been surprisingly discovered that an improved copper chloride-alkali metal chloride catalyst composition for the manufacture of trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene by oxychlorination in a fluidized bed can be obtained by using as a catalyst support an activated alumina which comprises a certain small proportion of silica and possesses a closely controlled surface area which is in excess of 20 m² /g but below 100 m² /g, preferably between about 20 m² /g and about 80 m² /g, and most preferably between about 25 and 60 m² /g. When such a support is loaded with a proper amount of a catalytic mixture of copper chloride, potassium chloride and magnesium chloride and used as a catalyst in a fluidized state in the manufacture of trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene by oxychlorination, overall feed conversions are significantly improved along with a substantial and unexpected reduction in metal reactor corrosion rates. Low reactor corrosion rates are of course greatly desired but have been heretofore difficult to achieve in combination with high performance.

In one of its further aspects the invention relates to the preparation and use of oxychlorination catalysts possessing improved resistance to degradation during their use in a high temperature oxychlorination process. Most commercial fluid bed oxychlorination processes for the production of ethylene dichloride from ethylene are best conducted at temperatures below 300° C., i.e., at relatively low temperatures, and employ catalysts based on substantially pure high-surface area alumina supports. Other such processes use naturally occurring minerals, such as fuller's earth or other clays, for catalyst supports. To be commercially useful, catalysts used in oxychlorination processes must have long-term surface area stability, as otherwise they become inoperable because of stickiness from salt overload when the surface area of the catalyst support becomes excessively reduced. Loss of surface area in alumina catalyst supports usually occurs because of a phase change from the gamma phase to the more dense alpha-alumina phase, which typically has very low surface areas.

In making perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene by oxychlorination of C₂ hydrocarbon, substantially higher reaction temperatures, of around 370° to 470° C., are required than in the manufacture of ethylene dichloride. Temperatures in the vicinity of 1200° C. are generally considered necessary to produce alpha-alumina from the gamma phase¹. However, it has been reported that the gamma to alpha transition can be achieved in the 375°-425° C. range by hydrothermal treatment, but only under high pressures of several hundred pounds per square inch (more than 13 atmospheres).² HCl has also been reported to cause the transition from gamma to alpha-alumina at well below 1200° C., e.g., at 850° C.³ The logical expectation has been that the stability of an alumina-based catalyst at low pressures, e.g. less than 100 psig (about 7 atmospheres), would be substantially as good in an oxychlorination process conducted at around 370° or 470° C. as it has been known to be in oxychlorination processes conducted at or below 300° C.

However, this expectation has been found to be misplaced. The simultaneous presence of steam and HCl in an oxychlorination process apparently can effect the transition from gamma to alpha-alumina at even lower temperatures, since we have observed a large decrease in surface area, from 73 m² /g to 9 m² /g, in a copper chloride-potassium chloride catalyst composition based on a gamma-alumina support in only 288 hours under oxychlorination conditions of 418° C. and 60 psig (about 4 atmospheres) pressure. Such a thermochemical degradation of conventional oxychlorination catalyst compositions at temperatures approaching or above 400° C. can make the oxychlorination reaction uneconomical in producing perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene.

It has now been found that oxychlorination catalysts based on gamma-alumina supports can be significantly improved in terms of their resistance to thermochemical degradation at or above 400° C. when a minor proportion, ranging from 0.2 to 10 percent and preferably 0.5 to 2.0 percent, of silica is incorporated in the alumina. Such concentrations of silica have been found to produce no significant effect on the properties of the support in a manner which is adverse to the desired functioning of the oxychlorination process when producing perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene. Good stability has been observed with supports which have been prepared with the addition of the silica either before the original spray-drying of the alumina gel from which the microspheroidal catalyst support particles are conventionally prepared or by impregnation with silica after such spray-drying (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,988), followed by calcination of the dry, impregnated alumina. However, other known ways may be used for including the desired small amount of silica into the alumina, i.e., for providing a silicated alumina as part of this oxychlorination catalyst.

In accordance with the present invention, the catalytic metal salts are loaded onto the supports possessing the selected surface area at a concentration of 10 to 25 percent, with the weight ratio of copper (II) chloride to potassium chloride in the catalytic salt mixture being from 0.5:1 to 3.0:1. The most suitable amount of the catalytic salts used for any particular catalyst is dependent on the surface area of the support. While supports having a surface area greater than 100 m² /g can support up to 30 or 35 weight percent copper chloride and potassium chloride salts without experiencing fluidization problems, it has been found that such relatively high catalyst loadings cause the microspheroidal catalyst particles to become sticky and difficult to maintain in the fluidized condition if loaded onto a support that has a surface area which is substantially lower than 100 m² /g from the beginning or which is reduced to below this value during use at elevated temperature.

Accordingly, for a catalyst support having a surface area in the range called for by the present invention, i.e., in excess of about 20 and less than 100 m² /g, a total salt loading of between about 10 and 25 percent based on the weight of the finished catalyst should be used, or in the most preferable surface area range, i.e. between about 25 and 60 m² /g, a total salt loading between 15 and 19 percent based on the weight of the finished catalyst should be used. These ranges are consistent with the graph represented in FIG. 2.

In calculating the weight ratio of copper chloride to potassium chloride, the copper chloride is calculated as cupric chloride (CuCl₂). Thus, the term "calculated as CuCl₂ ", as used in the specification and claims herein, means that where cupric chloride (CuCl₂) is employed in the catalyst mixture, e.g., to obtain a copper chloride to alkali metal chloride ratio of 1.2:1, 1.2 g of cupric chloride are employed per gram of potassium chloride; and where cuprous chloride (CuCl) is employed in the catalyst mixture instead of CuCl₂, in order to obtain the same nominal copper chloride to potassium chloride ratio of 1.2:1, enough cuprous chloride must be employed such that, upon conversion of the cuprous chloride to cupric chloride in the oxychlorination reaction, 1.2 grams of reacted cupric chloride will be present in the catalyst composition per gram of potassium chloride.

The invention particularly comprises a catalyst composition of the type described above, which has a good catalyst life, keeps reactor corrosion low and is especially effective in producing a high proportion of either perchloroethylene or trichloroethylene with only small burning losses and with accompanying increases in the total efficiency of the reaction under the conditions best suited for producing either product.

The process of making perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene by catalytic oxychlorination of C₂ hydrocarbons and their partially chlorinated derivatives is an especially complex one. In addition to the requirement for a catalyst and reaction conditions favoring chlorination of the organic feed at a rapid rate, there is a necessity for the chlorinated intermediates produced to be dehydrochlorinated at a rapid rate to allow further chlorination. With all of this, different catalysts as well as different reaction conditions are usually required to optimize the production of perchloroethylene or trichloroethylene. Processes for oxychlorinating C₂ hydrocarbons and their derivatives have been commonly known to destroy a substantial proportion of the organic feed through its conversion to carbon oxides. Trichloroethylene production is especially sensitive to high burning rates and requires care in the choice of catalyst and conditions.

In searching for compounds that would stabilize alumina supports against loss of surface area in the high-temperature environment of the oxychlorination reaction used to make perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene, it has now been unexpectedly found that magnesium chloride, or other magnesium compounds such as magnesium acetate or magnesium nitrate, added in the proper proportion to a catalyst possessing the characteristics described earlier herein gives improved performance in the form of reduced burning and usually also produces other improvements in terms of increased hydrogen chloride or chlorine conversion and higher selectivity to perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene. The improvement in performance has been found to be especially marked with feed ratios appropriate for the production of trichloroethylene.

To produce the desired effect, the catalyst of the invention is composed of copper(II) chloride, potassium chloride and magnesium chloride on supports consisting essentially of at least 90 and up to 99.8 weight percent alumina and at least 0.2 and up to 10 weight percent silica. As previously stated herein, the weight ratio of potassium chloride to magnesium chloride is in the range from 0.8:1 to 1.2:1 in its preferred embodiment and is most preferably close to 1, irrespective of the surface area of the support. The proper proportions of the several components of the catalyst salt mixture as well as proper loading of the salt mixture on the support is determined from equations (1) and (2) listed in an earlier portion of this specification.

The useful range of support surface areas described by the above equations is about 10 to 250 m² /g of support, but the present invention requires the use of supports having a surface area between 20 and 100 m² /g, most preferably between 25 and 60 m² /g, as described earlier.

The oxychlorination reaction is carried out using (1) a C₂ hydrocarbon (as earlier defined) as the organic feedstock, (2) chlorine and/or a chlorine-containing gas such as hydrogen chloride as a source of chlorine, and (3) an oxygen-containing gas such as molecular oxygen or air or oxygen-enriched air as a source of oxygen, with such gases entering the reaction zone at a combined velocity above the minimum fluidization velocity of the catalyst. The ratio of C₂ feed and chlorine-containing feed can be varied to control the degree of chlorination as suggested earlier hereinabove, thus achieving the desired trichloroethylene/perchloroethylene product split. The reaction is carried out within a temperature range of 370 to 470° C., preferably 400 to 430° C., with a contact time of 2 to 60 seconds, preferably 5 to 30 seconds. The reaction pressure may range from 1 to 20 atmospheres (absolute).

Use of Alumina Support Possessing An Intermediate Surface Area EXAMPLE 1 Catalyst Preparation

A microspheroidal alumina support having a surface area of 27 m² /g was prepared by calcination for 1 hour at a high temperature, i.e., 1050° C., of a commercially available microspheroidal gamma-alumina which had a surface area of 186 m² /g, an average particle size of 63 microns, a silica content of less than 0.1 percent, a sodium oxide content of 0.04 percent and an iron oxide content of 0.04 percent.

To prepare the desired catalyst composition, an 816.8-gram portion of the calcined alumina support was placed in a heavy-gauge plastic bag. An aqueous solution containing 98.1 grams of copper(II) chloride dihydrate, 31.0 grams of potassium chloride and 400 grams of water was then added to the alumina in the bag. Sufficient solution was present to moisten all of the alumina. The preparation was thoroughly mixed by hand kneading, placed in a glass dish and dried overnight at 150° C. The dried catalyst composition contained 8.54 percent copper chloride and 3.88 percent potassium chloride. Target loadings for this catalyst were 8.35 and 3.35 percent copper chloride and potassium chloride, respectively, as calculated by the total weight of the anhydrous metal chlorides and the alumina support.

Other supports with surface areas of 5 and 85 m² /g, respectively, were prepared from the same commercial high-surface-area alumina by calcination at 1200° C. for 1 hour (for Catalyst B) and at 1000° C. for 1.17 hours (for Catalyst C), respectively. Table I presents data on salt loadings of catalysts prepared similarly as described above from the parent alumina (Catalyst D) and the various calcined supports of various surface areas (Catalysts A, B and C).

                  TABLE I                                                          ______________________________________                                                 Support                                                                        Surface Area                                                                               Salt Loading, Wt %                                         Catalyst  (m.sup.2 /g)  CuCl.sub.2                                                                              KCl                                           ______________________________________                                         A          27 (Invention)*                                                                             8.35     3.35                                          B          5 (Too Low)* 7.50     2.50                                          C          85 (Borderline)*                                                                            10.58    5.58                                          D         186 (Too High)**                                                                             15.00    10.00                                         ______________________________________                                           *Calcined                                                                     **Not Calcined.                                                          

EXAMPLE 2 Fluidized Bed Oxychlorination to Perchloroethylene and Trichloroethylene, 3.4 cm Reactor

The fluidized bed reactor employed in this work was of Pyrex glass construction having a reaction zone 1.34 inches (3.4 cm) in diameter and 4 feet (122 cm) in length and a secondary expansion zone 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) in diameter and 8 inches (20.3 cm) in length. The reactor was fitted with an 8-mm glass thermocouple well extending through the top of the reactor to within 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) of the glass feed distributor frit at the bottom of the reaction tube. Metal corrosion rates were measured by recording the weight loss of metal coupons after exposure to the fluidized oxychlorination catalyst at reaction conditions for 50 hours. Since nickel and Inconel alloys are the materials of choice for construction of oxychlorination reactors operating at temperatures in the range from 370° to 470° C., Inconel 600 and Nickel 200 coupons, sized 0.5 inches×2 inches×0.15 inches (1.3 cm×5.1 cm×0.4 cm), were suspended from the glass thermocouple well by Chromel A wire hooks. The coupons were located one foot (30.5 cm) above the feed distributor frit. The tubular reactor was placed inside a second glass tube with an inside diameter of 1.65 inches (4.2 cm) and a length of 4 feet (121.9 cm) wrapped with Chromel A heating wire. The temperature of the catalyst bed was controlled by varying the voltage applied to the heating wire Ethylene, hydrogen chloride and air feed were preheated to 150° C. and mixed in a tee 6 inches (15.2 cm) below the glass distributor frit.

In a typical run, sufficient catalyst (about 750 ml) was charged to the reactor to provide a bed height of about 3.5 feet (106.7 cm). A superficial linear feed gas velocity of 0.28 feet per second (8.5 cm/sec) was employed All tests were conducted at atmospheric pressure.

Results of oxychlorination runs obtained with the catalyst of the invention and other catalysts are listed in Table II.

                  TABLE II                                                         ______________________________________                                         Oxychlorination of Ethylene to Trichloroethylene                               and Perchloroethylene                                                                         Run No.                                                                        1     2       3       4                                         ______________________________________                                         Catalyst         A       B       C     D                                       Support Surface Area                                                                            27      5       85    186                                     (square meters per gram)                                                       Reaction Temperature, °C.                                                                420     419     420   419                                     Feed Ratios, HCl/O.sub.2                                                                        1.57    1.59    1.59  1.59                                    Feed Ratio, HCl/C.sub.2 H.sub.4                                                                 2.89    2.89    2.89  2.89                                    Superficial Linear Velocity,                                                                    8.5     8.5     8.5   8.5                                     cm/sec                                                                         HCl Conversion, percent                                                                         94.05   95.11   83.75 64.7                                    Ethylene Selectivity to:                                                       Trichloroethylene                                                                               47.48   62.86   42.61 25.62                                   Perchloroethylene                                                                               12.55   8.24    21.34 11.77                                   Carbon oxides    15.73   9.49    21.16 26.27                                   Coupon Corrosion Rates:                                                        (mils per year)                                                                Nickel 200       51.3    92.5    48.8  41.2                                    Inconel 600      67.6    166     71.0  43.4                                    ______________________________________                                    

The results of the runs reported in Table II are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a plot of HCl conversion versus support surface area, and FIG. 4 is a plot of metal coupon corrosion versus catalyst support surface area.

HCl conversion is defined as: 100×(wt HCl in feed--wt HCl in reactor effluent)/wt HCl in feed.

A relatively low HCl feed rate was deliberately selected for these runs in order to favor making more trichloroethylene (TCE) than perchloroethylene (PCE). However, the process is flexible in this respect, and a higher ratio of HCl in the feed may be used if one wishes to make more PCE. The present invention is of particular value under reaction conditions favoring the production of TCE, as these conditions usually result in high burning of the hydrocarbon feed, and the novel catalyst compositions of this invention tend to reduce such burning.

FIG. 3 shows that HCl conversions increase dramatically as the surface area of the alumina catalyst support is decreased. "A", the preferred catalyst (support surface area 27 m² /g), exhibits a very high HCl conversion of 94.05 percent, better than that recorded with catalyst "C" (support surface area, 85 m² /g), and dramatically better than that recorded with catalyst "D", (support surface area, 186 m² /g). Catalyst "B" (support surface area, 5 m² /g) gave a slightly better HCl conversion (95.11 percent) than the preferred catalyst "A", but resulted in a vastly greater metal corrosion rate. Along with the improvement in catalyst performance as reflected in a better HCl conversion, the use of catalyst "A" has resulted in an unexpected reduction in corrosion rate in comparison with catalyst "B".

In FIG. 4 the corrosion rates for Nickel 200 and Inconel 600 coupons are plotted versus the surface areas of the catalyst supports. Corrosion rates in mils are based on a 360-day year as follows: ##EQU1##

where Delta=change in weight in grams, f=Coupon face area=total coupon surface area divided by 2, T^(i) =initial coupon thickness in mils, Wt^(i) =initial coupon weight in grams, and H is the total run time.

FIG. 1 showed that catalyst "B", having the lowest support surface area, gave the highest HCl conversion of 95.11 percent versus 94.05 for catalyst "A" of the invention. However, FIG. 4 shows that the corrosion rate was much greater in the case of catalyst "B" for both nickel and Inconel metal coupons. In summary, catalyst "A" resulted in a significantly higher HCl conversion than either catalyst "C" or especially catalyst "D", and at the same time catalysts "A" and "C" resulted in a corrosion rate far below that obtained with catalyst "B".

Perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene may be recovered from the reaction product stream by any suitable technique known to those skilled in the art. Thus, the effluent from the reactor may be passed through a cooler and a condenser to a phase separator which collects the condensed chlorohydrocarbons and hydrochloric acid. The chlorohydrocarbon stream from the phase separator may then be neutralized, dried, and sent to a fractional distillation system for purification and recovery of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene.

EXAMPLE 3 Effect of Silica Addition Catalyst Preparation and Aging, 5.1 cm Reactor

3050-gram samples of various commercially prepared microspheroidal alumina supports I, II and III, each of which possessed a specified content of silica, were placed in heavy-gauge plastic bags. An aqueous solution of 773.2 grams of copper(II) chloride dihydrate, 406.6 grams of potassium chloride and 1455 grams of water was then added to the alumina in each of the bags. Sufficient solution was present in each case to moisten all of the alumina. The preparations were thoroughly mixed by hand kneading, placed in glass dishes and dried overnight at 150° C. Target loadings for these catalysts were 15.0 and 10.0 weight percent copper chloride and potassium chloride, respectively, as calculated by the total weight of the anhydrous metal chlorides and the alumina support.

The alumina supports tested had the surface area characteristics and silica concentrations shown in Table III below. The initial surface area of each such complete catalyst composition, as well as the final surface area of each after a state number of hours on stream in an oxychlorination run, are also shown in Table III.

Catalyst charges and specified feeds were introduced in the quantities and at the rates shown in Table IV below, which also shows the reaction conditions used in each run.

                  TABLE III                                                        ______________________________________                                         Properties of Supports and Catalysts                                           Before and After Reaction Aging                                                                       Final Surface Area                                                 Initial Surface Area                                                                       (m.sup.2 /g)                                                   %     (m.sup.2 /g)  Run Time  Cata-                                     Support  Silica  Support  Catalyst                                                                              (hours) lyst                                  ______________________________________                                         Alumina I*                                                                              <0.1    186      73     288.sup.a                                                                               9.0                                  Alumina II                                                                              0.2     166      72     540.sup.a                                                                              16.0                                  Alumina III                                                                             1.6     189      84     385.sup.b                                                                              75.2                                  ______________________________________                                          *Alumina I is the same material which was used, as such, as the support i      catalyst D, Table I, and which was calcined to make the supports used in       the catalysts A, B and C in Table I.                                           .sup.a Catalyst life test run in the 15.2 cm diameter reactor.                 .sup.b Catalyst life test run in the 5.1 cm diameter reactor.            

                  TABLE IV                                                         ______________________________________                                         Average Run Conditions for                                                     Oxychlorination Catalyst Life Studies                                          Reaction           5.1 cm   15.2 cm                                            Parameter          Reactor  Reactor                                            ______________________________________                                         Catalyst Charge, kg                                                                               4.1      38.6-61.3                                          Temperature, °C.                                                                           410      418                                                Pressure, atm.     4.1      4.1                                                Catalyst Bed Height, cm                                                                           259      274-396                                            Superficial Linear Velocity,                                                                      18.3     18.3                                               cm./sec.                                                                       Residence Time, seconds                                                                           14        14-22                                             HCl/Ethylene Dichloride                                                                           1.2-1.65 1.35                                               Molar Ratio                                                                    HCl/Oxygen Molar Ratio                                                                            0.96     0.95                                               When Ethylene Was Fed:                                                         HCl/Ethylene Molar Ratio                                                                          --       2.85                                               HCl/Oxygen Molar Ratio                                                                            --       1.60                                               ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 4 Catalyst Preparation and Aging, 15.2 cm Reactor

In another series of runs, 42 kg quantities of various commercially prepared microspheroidal alumina supports were placed in an epoxy-coated steel tray capable of being heated with steam pipes fastened beneath it. An aqueous solution of 10.7 kg of copper(II) chloride dihydrate, 5.6 kg of potassium chloride and 20.1 kg of water was poured over the alumina in the tray and mixed thoroughly with a small rake. The catalysts were dried to a uniform brown color with 120-pound (8 atm.) steam in the heating pipes under the tray. Target loadings for these catalysts were the same as in Example 3. The alumina supports I and II had the surface area characteristics, initial and aged, and the silica concentrations indicated in Table III above.

EXAMPLE 5 Test of Catalyst Life in a 5.1 Centimeter Diameter Fluidized-Bed Oxychlorination Reactor

The selected catalyst charge was loaded into a pressurizable reactor fabricated from 5.1 cm diameter pipe 396 cm in length made of Inconel 600 nickel-chromium alloy. Welded around the reactor tube was a pressurized 10.2 cm pipe jacket connected into a thermosyphon filled with Dowtherm A heat transfer medium (b.p. 258° C.) for cooling. The reactor was equipped with a distributor at the bottom and an enlargement at the top. The enlargement was 15.2 cm in diameter and 122 cm long, tapering downward to its flange connection with the 5.1 cm diameter reactor tube. The effluent line was equipped with a cyclone, fines pot, fines filter and pressure control valve. A 0.6 cm Inconel tube extending the length of the reactor tube contained a sliding thermocouple. The reactor, effluent line and accessory equipment were electrically heated and insulated.

In the course of each oxychlorination run the reactor was shut down and depressurized for periodic removal of catalyst samples for surface area analysis.

EXAMPLE 6 Test of Catalyst Life in a 15.2 cm Diameter Fluidized-Bed Oxychlorination Reactor

The selected catalyst charge was loaded into a pressurizable reactor fabricated from 15.2 cm diameter Inconel 600 pipe 396 cm in length. Welded into the top and bottom of this reactor section were four 3/4-inch (1.9 cm diameter) tubes running the length of the section and standing out 2.5 cm from the wall. Dowtherm A heat transfer medium was circulated through these tubes for cooling. A distributor was flanged to the bottom of the reactor section and an enlargement section to the top. The enlargement tapered from the six-inch (15.2 cm diameter) pipe section through a 60-degree cone into a cylinder 16 inches (40.6 cm) in diameter and 24 inches (61 cm) high. The effluent line of this reactor was equipped with a cyclone with a catalyst return leg, a fines filter and a pressure control valve. Thermocouple wells were welded into the side of the reactor tube at various levels. The reactor and accessory equipment were electrically heated and insulated.

Catalyst charges and specified feeds were introduced in the quantities and rates prescribed in Table IV above, which also shows the run conditions. Catalyst samples were removed periodically through a valve without shutdown for surface area analysis.

The data shown in Table III are illustrated graphically in FIG. 5 where the surface areas of three catalysts are plotted against the aging time in actual oxychlorination runs. Clearly, increased amounts of silica considerably lessened the rate of surface area decrease with respect to time, showing that increased stability can be imparted by the inclusion of larger amounts of silica in the catalyst support. All of the aluminas in Table III contained silica which was either present in the original alumina gel or was added before the alumina was activated by heating to around 600° C.

Various samples were prepared from Alumina I (Table III), which had an initial surface area of 186 m² /g, by adding to it different amounts of silica in the form of silicone oil and then heating each in a furnace at 1200° C. for three hours. Stabilization of alumina by adding silicone oil to it is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,988. The effects on surface area of the resulting supports are shown in Table V below and in FIG. 6.

Table V shows a direct correlation of support stabilization (as measured by surface area after calcination at 1200° C.) with the amount of silica added to Alumina I. The results in Table V also correlate very favorably with the data in Table III relating oxychlorination run time with the final surface area, and confirms that the purely thermal method of calcining at 1200° C. provides a valid method for accelerated testing of catalyst supports.

                  TABLE V                                                          ______________________________________                                         Effect of 1200° C. Calcination on                                       Silicone-Oil Treated Alumina Supports                                          Weight Percent Surface Area,                                                   Silica Added   m.sup.2 /g                                                      ______________________________________                                         0.0            8.0                                                             0.25           12.8                                                            0.5            15.1                                                            1.8            17.4                                                            2.0            32.8                                                            5.0            45.0                                                            ______________________________________                                    

In comparing Table V with Table III, one should keep in mind that the results in Table V were obtained when surface area stability was tested in an accelerated thermal test by calcining the various alumina supports by themselves at 1200° C., whereas the results in Table III were obtained when the various compositions identified there were used as catalysts in an oxychlorination reaction conducted at 410° to 418° C. A comparison between these two sets of results shows that the accelerated thermal test conducted at 1200° C. provides a good measure of the surface area stability that a particular catalyst support can be expected to exhibit under actual oxychlorination reaction conditions.

Similarly, while the catalysts tested in Examples 5 and 6 above were prepared using alumina supports that possessed an initial surface area in excess of 160 m² /g, i.e., well above the upper limit of the present invention, these tests nevertheless clearly demonstrate the beneficial effect of controlled silica addition on the thermal or thermochemical stability of these alumina-base catalyst compositions at high temperatures under oxychlorination or calcination conditions, and serve as useful evidence that controlled silica addition will have this same beneficial effect in the case of alumina or alumina-silica supports falling within the scope of this invention, i.e., supports characterized by an initial surface area below 100 m² /g, i.e., 20 to 100 m² /g, or more particularly 25 to 60 m² /g.

Effect of Magnesium Chloride in Catalyst Composition

The following examples illustrate the beneficial effect of magnesium chloride when using the novel catalyst composition in the production of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene from ethylene dichloride as the organic feed, but the improvement is just as valid when ethylene, ethane or any of their partially chlorinated derivatives are used as feeds.

EXAMPLE 7 Catalyst Preparation With Magnesium Chloride

An aqueous solution of 131.7 g of copper(II) chloride dihydrate, 93.5 g of magnesium chloride hexahydrate and 43.8 g of potassium chloride in 480 g of water was prepared and added to a heavy-gauge plastic bag containing 1008 g of a microspheroidal alumina support containing 97 weight percent alumina, 1.6 weight percent silica and the balance mostly volatile materials. The average particle size was 50-60 microns and its surface area was 35 m² /g.

The constituents were kneaded to a uniform color and consistency in the closed bag. Sufficient solution was present to create the consistency of dough. The uniform mixture was placed in a glass dish in an oven at 150° C. and dried overnight. The target composition for this catalyst in weight percentages was copper(II) chloride, 8.65; potassium chloride, 3.65; magnesium chloride, 3.65; all calculated on the basis of the weights of anhydrous metal chloride and the alumina support.

Catalysts prepared on silicated alumina supports having surface areas of 56 and 228 m² /g were prepared by similar procedures. The higher surface area catalysts required somewhat higher proportions of water to maintain a slightly moist consistency. Table VI shows data on the surface areas of the alumina supports and their corresponding metal salt loadings.

                  TABLE VI                                                         ______________________________________                                                                  Salt loading,                                                Surface Area      weight percent                                        Support  m.sup.2 /g % Silica CuCl.sub.2                                                                           KCl   MgCl.sub.2                            ______________________________________                                         Alumina IV                                                                              35         1.6      8.65  3.65  3.65                                  Alumina V                                                                               56         2.0      9.50  4.50  4.50                                  Alumina VI                                                                              228        5.0      10.00 12.48 12.48                                 ______________________________________                                    

All three supports in Table VI contained the stated concentration of silica incorporated into the support by the manufacturer before calcination. Alumina IV was calcined to 35 m² /g by the manufacturer. Alumina V was also calcined by its manufacturer, which was different from that of Alumina IV. Alumina VI was an uncalcined but activated high-surface-area alumina prepared by the manufacturer of Alumina IV.

EXAMPLE 8 Fluidized Bed Oxychlorination to Perchloroethylene and Trichloroethylene

The fluidized bed reactor used was made of Pyrex glass, electrically heated and insulated, and had a reaction zone 3.4 cm in diameter and 122 cm long with an expansion zone 6.4 cm in diameter and 20.3 cm long. An 8-mm thermocouple well extended from the top of the reactor to 1.3 cm above the fritted disk distributor plate in the bottom. The catalyst bed was 116 to 122 cm in height. The superficial linear velocity was about 9.1 cm per second, and the residence time was about 13 seconds. Ethylene dichloride (EDC) vapor, HCl and air were fed through the frit. For a high-ratio run (HCl/EDC=1.68) 0.451 moles per hour of EDC were fed through the frit with the appropriate number of moles of HCl and air at an HCl/O₂ ratio of 0.95. For a low-ratio run (HCl/EDC=1.20), 0.605 moles per hour of EDC were fed with the proper number of moles of HCl and air at the same HCl/O₂ ratio of 0.95. The reactor was run at ambient pressure at a temperature of 410° C. The results are shown in Tables VII, VIII and IX.

                  TABLE VII                                                        ______________________________________                                         Comparison of Catalysts on Support IV,                                         Surface Area - 35 m.sup.2 /g Atmospheric Pressure Runs                                    Run Number                                                                     1     2.sup.a 3.sup.b 4.sup.b                                                                              5.sup.b                                 ______________________________________                                         Catalyst Composition                                                           CuCl.sub.2, Wt. %                                                                           8.65    8.65    8.65  8.53  8.17                                  KCl, Wt. %   3.65    3.65    7.30  3.53  --                                    MgCl.sub.2, Wt. %                                                                           3.65    4.67    --    --    7.82                                  Total Loading, Wt. %                                                                        15.95   16.97   15.95 12.06 15.99                                 KCl/MgCl.sub.2,                                                                             1.00    0.78    inf.  inf.  0.0                                   Weight Ratio                                                                   (KCl + MgCl.sub.2)/                                                                         0.84    0.96    0.84  0.41  0.96                                  CuCl.sub.2, Wt. Rat.                                                           Catalyst Performance:                                                          (A) High Feed Ratio: HCl/EDC = 1.68, HCl/O.sub.2 = 0.95                        HCl Conversion, %                                                                           87.4    87.4    80.4  87.7  --                                    Burning, %   7.5     9.3     8.4   11.1  --                                    PCE + TCE    76.8    79.4    80.7  80.7  --                                    Selectivity.sup.c, %                                                           Efficiency.sup.d                                                                            156.7   157.5   152.7 157.3 --                                    (B) Low Feed Ratio: HCl/EDC = 1.20, HCl/O.sub.2 = 0.95                         HCl Conversion, %                                                                           93.1    91.2    90.0  79.0  72.9                                  Burning, %   7.4     7.5     8.0   10.4  9.8                                   PCE + TCE    70.4    70.1    72.1  57.1  58.7                                  Selectivity.sup.c, %                                                           Efficiency.sup.d                                                                            156.1   153.8   154.1 125.7 121.8                                 Total Efficiency.sup.e                                                                      312.8   311.3   306.8 283.0 --                                    ______________________________________                                          .sup.a Ratio Comparison Run,                                                   .sup.b Catalyst Composition Comparison Run                                     .sup.c PCE = Perchloroethylene, TCE = Trichloroethylene                        .sup.d Efficiency = HCl Conversion + (PCE + TCE) Selectivity - Burning         .sup.e Total Efficiency = Efficiency at low feed ratio + Efficiency at         high feed ratio                                                          

Table VII shows the importance of catalyst formulations according to this invention on a support well within the preferred surface-area range of the invention and also stabilized with silica within the preferred range of the invention. In Run 1, the catalyst composition employed was very close to the ideal composition with respect to total loading and salt ratio as shown on the preferred lines of FIGS. 1 and 2. Run 1 had a Total Efficiency of 321.8, the highest observed on the 35 m² g support. Because of the change of weight ratio of KCl/MgCl₂ to 0.78, slightly outside of the more desirable range of 0.8-1.2, in Run 2 the Total Efficiency dropped to 311.3, though still high. Run 3, employing the best of the binary catalysts shown, comprising cupric chloride with no magnesium chloride and with an amount of potassium chloride equal to the sum of potassium chloride and magnesium chloride in Run 1 (other binary catalysts CuCl₂ /KCl or CuCl₂ /MgCl₂, are shown in Runs 4 and 5) gave a lower Total Efficiency at 306.8. Run 4 shows the inferior results obtained when the magnesium chloride was completely omitted from the catalyst of Run 1. Run 5 shows the results obtained at low feed ratios when magnesium chloride alone was used on the catalyst in approximately the same concentration as the cupric chloride, with no potassium chloride.

                  TABLE VIII                                                       ______________________________________                                         Comparison of Catalysts on Support V,                                          Surface Area = 56 m.sup.2 /g Atmospheric Pressure Runs                                             Run Number                                                                     6     7.sup.a                                              ______________________________________                                         Catalyst Composition                                                           CuCl.sub.2, Wt. %     9.50    9.00                                             KCl, Wt. %            4.50    4.00                                             MgCl.sub.2, Wt. %     4.50    --                                               Total Loading, Wt. %  18.50   13.00                                            KCl/MgCl.sub.2, Wt. Ratio                                                                            1.00    inf.                                             (KCl + MgCl.sub.2)/CuCl.sub.2, Wt. Ratio                                                             0.95    0.44                                             Catalyst Performance:                                                          (A) High Feed Ratio: HCl/EDC = 1.68, HCl/O.sub.2 = 0.95                        HCl Conversion, %     84.4    64.9                                             Burning, %            11.5    16.1                                             PCE + TCE Selectivity.sup.b, %                                                                       79.3    74.1                                             Efficiency.sup.c      152.2   122.9                                            (B) Low Feed Ratio: HCl/EDC = 1.20, HCl/O.sub.2 = 0.95                         HCl Conversion, %     77.8    30.3                                             Burning, %            9.7     14.4                                             PCE + TCE Selectivity.sup.b, %                                                                       62.8    50.5                                             Efficiency.sup.c      130.9   66.4                                             Total Efficiency.sup.d                                                                               283.1   189.3                                            ______________________________________                                          .sup.a Catalyst Composition Comparison Run                                     .sup.b PCE = Perchloroethylene, TCE = Trichloroethylene                        .sup.c Efficiency = HCl Conversion + (PCE + TCE) Selectivity - Burning         .sup.d Total Efficiency = Efficiency at low feed ratio + Efficiency at         high feed ratio                                                          

                                      TABLE IX                                     __________________________________________________________________________     Comparison of Catalysts on Support VI,                                         Surface Area = 228 m.sup.2 /g Atmospheric Pressure Runs                                      Run Number                                                                     8   9.sup.a                                                                            10.sup.b                                                                           11.sup.a                                                                           12.sup.a                                                                           13.sup.a                                                                           14.sup.a                                 __________________________________________________________________________     Catalyst Composition                                                           CuCl.sub.2, Wt. %                                                                            10.04                                                                              15.00                                                                              15.00                                                                              13.06                                                                              7.86                                                                               9.74                                                                               10.32                                    KCl, Wt. %    12.48                                                                              10.00                                                                              10.00                                                                              10.97                                                                              13.57                                                                              8.42                                                                               16.45                                    MgCl.sub.2, Wt. %                                                                            12.48                                                                              10.00                                                                              --  10.97                                                                              13.57                                                                              16.84                                                                              8.23                                     Total Loading, Wt. %                                                                         35.00                                                                              35.00                                                                              25.00                                                                              35.00                                                                              35.00                                                                              35.00                                                                              35.00                                    KCl/MgCl.sub.2, Weight Ratio                                                                 1.00                                                                               1.00                                                                               inf.                                                                               1.00                                                                               1.00                                                                               0.50                                                                               2.00                                     (KCl + MgCl.sub.2)/CuCl.sub.2,                                                               2.49                                                                               1.33                                                                               0.67                                                                               1.68                                                                               3.45                                                                               2.59                                                                               2.39                                     Weight Ratio                                                                   Catalyst Performance:                                                          (A) High Feed Ratio: HCl/EDC = 1.68, HCl/O.sub.2 = 0.95                        HCl Conversion, %                                                                            87.3                                                                               84.4                                                                               84.8                                                                               82.3                                                                               63.9                                                                               87.1                                                                               --                                       Burning, %    8.7 10.9                                                                               16.3                                                                               13.4                                                                               8.8 15.3                                                                               --                                       PCE + TCE Select..sup.c, %                                                                   86.7                                                                               81.4                                                                               78.1                                                                               82.5                                                                               75.6                                                                               80.8                                                                               --                                       Efficiency.sup.d                                                                             165.3                                                                              154.9                                                                              146.6                                                                              151.4                                                                              130.7                                                                              152.6                                                                              --                                       (B) Low Feed Ratio: HCl/EDC = 1.20, HCl/O.sub.2 = 0.95                         HCl Conversion, %                                                                            85.0                                                                               69.6                                                                               9.7 71.8                                                                               73.7                                                                               83.4                                                                               76.5                                     Burning, %    9.0 13.4                                                                               22.2                                                                               12.7                                                                               8.2 10.9                                                                               10.7                                     PCE + TCE Select..sup.c, %                                                                   79.6                                                                               63.7                                                                               40.4                                                                               69.3                                                                               76.4                                                                               72.6                                                                               72.0                                     Efficiency.sup.d                                                                             155.6                                                                              119.9                                                                              27.9                                                                               128.4                                                                              141.9                                                                              145.1                                                                              137.8                                    Total Efficiency.sup.e                                                                       320.9                                                                              274.8                                                                              174.5                                                                              279.8                                                                              272.6                                                                              297.7                                                                              --                                       __________________________________________________________________________      .sup.a Ratio comparison run                                                    .sup.b Catalyst composition comparison run                                     .sup.c PCE = Perchloroethylene, TCE = Trichloroethylene                        .sup.d Efficiency = HCl Conversion + (PCE + TCE) Selectivity - Burning         .sup.e Total Efficiency = Efficiency at low feed ratio + Efficiency at         high feed ratio                                                          

Table VIII shows an example of the great improvement made by the addition of magnesium chloride to a binary catalyst composition on s support prepared by a different manufacturer, by a method which produced less than optimal chemical properties. A comparison is made between two catalysts prepared from this 56 m² /g surface-area alumina, which catalysts were found to be comparatively inferior in activity to those prepared from the support in Table VII. The catalyst of Run 6 had an ideal loading and salt ratios as described by the curves depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 and is compared with a binary catalyst modeled after the binary catalyst of Run 4, Table VII and adjusted for support surface area (Run 7). Clearly an amount of MgCl₂ added in accordance with the preferred range of this invention caused an important increase in the Total Efficiency of the catalyst to an even greater degree than observed with closely analogous compositions in Table VII (Runs 4 and 1).

Table IX shows the value of appropriate combinations of CuCl₂ and KCl, with and without MgCl₂, as shown in Equation 1 and illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 with respect to the Total Efficiency described in Note (e) of the table in connection with oxychlorination runs conducted at atmospheric pressure. Run 8, with near-optimum (KCl+MgCl₂)/CuCl₂ and KCl/MgCl₂ ratios, gave the highest Total Efficiency and the least burning obtained at atmospheric pressure. However, in contrast to the preferred intermediate-surface area (35 m² /g) support of the invention described in Table VII, none of the catalysts based on the high-surface-area support of Table IX performed well at higher pressures, e.g. 4 atmospheres. Therefore, the results of the runs in Table IX must be regarded as relative values which are only directionally significant for operating under pressure. By comparison with Run 8 in Table IX Run 9 shows the adverse consequences of a low (KCl+MgCl₂)/CuCl₂ ratio in terms of lower Efficiency and higher carbon burning and Run 10 shows the even more unpropitious consequences of leaving out the magnesium chloride with otherwise the same catalyst as in Run 9. Runs 11 and 12 show the results of other high and low ratios of (KCl+MgCl₂)/CuCl₂ with the ratio KCl/MgCl₂ and the loading remaining at ideal values. Runs 13 and 14 show the effects on Total Efficiency of maintaining the ratio (KCl+MgCl₂)/CuCl₂ and the loading at the ideal values and using low and high ratios of KCl/MgCl₂.

It should be understood that while the foregoing description of the invention includes preferred embodiments and specific working examples, many variations and modifications of what has been described may be employed by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of this invention. Such variations and modifications are to be considered within the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A catalyst composition for use in the production of perchloroethylene by oxychlorination of a C₂ hydrocarbon in a fluidized bed, which composition comprises (A) a catalyst support composed of microspheroidal particles comprising between 90 and 99.8 percent alumina and between 10 and 0.2 percent silica and having an initial surface area in excess of 20 and less than 100 m² /g, and (B) 10 to 25 percent (based on said support) of a catalyst mixture of copper chloride, potassium chloride and magnesium chloride deposited on said support, (a) the ratio of copper chloride to potassium chloride in said salt mixture being between 1.2:1 and 3.0:1, :he copper chloride being calculated as copper (II) chloride, and (b) the ratio of magnesium chloride to potassium chloride in said salt mixture being between 0.8:1 and 1.2:1, said salt mixture being deposited on said microspheroidal support at a catalyst loading Y which is dependent on the initial surface area of said microspheroidal support and is calculated from the equationY (expressed in weight percent)=0.102X+12.57±20%, X being a figure corresponding to the initial surface area of the support expressed in square meters per gram.
 2. A catalyst composition according to claim 1, wherein the weight ratio Z of (potassium chloride+magnesium chloride) to copper (II) chloride is not more than 0.00973X+0.860 and not less than 0.00811X+0.216, X being the surface area of the alumina support in square meters per gram. 